As last season was winding down — Ben Gordon’s sixth straight without making the playoffs — the 32-year-old combo guard heaped some of the responsibility on himself and took immediate action.
Gordon hired a chef and began experimenting with a vegan diet. For about three months, the 2004 No. 3 overall pick ate mostly avocados, oatmeal, textured vegetable protein and pastas, losing about 15 pounds and gaining incalculable amounts of energy.
By the time Gordon was congratulating Warriors players on their championship this summer in Las Vegas, he was already off the diet, but his commitment was obvious to team captains Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala.